1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to surgical needles and, more particularly, to a blunt surgical needle wherein the needle tip portion has one or more flat surfaces which blend smoothly into the needle and decrease potential skin penetration of the gloved hand of an operator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Everyone today is well aware of the severity of contracting Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The members of professions that must deal on a daily basis with the risk of coming in contact with people that do or may have HIV or AIDS are acutely aware of the severity. Members of the medical profession, especially surgeons, are in an extremely high risk position when performing operations. The knowledge that infectious diseases such as the AIDS virus can spread by an accidentally inflicted needle stick from a contaminated needle administered to the person having AIDS is the cause for much concern for the profession. These professionals are therefore taking every precaution to reduce the risks. For example, the use of double gloving, blunt tipped needles and gloves thickened at the fingers are known to reduce the rate of glove puncture. In addition, the use of forceps designed to grip both the tissue and needle more effectively and the use of staples for skin closure are also known to reduce the incidence of glove puncture.
Accordingly, there has been an increasing amount of activity in the area of surgical needle tip design. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,828,547 to Sahi et al. discloses a needle having a blunting member which is moveable from a retracted position to an extended position. In the retracted position, the blunting member does not interfere with the puncture tip of the needle. In the extended position, the blunting member extends beyond the puncture tip and therefor acts as a guard against accidental needle sticks. Further examples of shield or guard type assemblies for syringe needles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,883,469 to Glazier and 4,883,471 to Braginetz et al.
The devices disclosed above are useful for hypodermic syringe needles which are disposed of after a single stick. This design would not be practical for use with surgical needles since such needles must make repeated sticks into the body.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,910 to Mcintosh discloses a tapered needle tip having a circular cross-section and terminating in a blunt head. The blunt head has a part spherical or other curved shape with no sharp edge surfaces. The problem with the prior art blunt head needles is the force necessary to penetrate the tissue is too high so that the momentum of the needle after it passes through the tissue is also so high that the needle penetrates the gloved hand of the surgeon thereby negating the safety factor of the blunt head. As a consequence, this blunt tip needle does not significantly reduce the probability of skin penetration of a gloved hand. Thus, there is a need to develop an improved surgical needle for use in suturing non-cutaneous and friable soft tissues of the body while at the same time significantly reducing the probability of skin penetration of the gloved hand of an operator.